Litmus Test? Passed!

Litmus Test? Passed!

By Christian Leggas 

Olympiacos have secured back-to-back wins to start this season's UEFA Europa League campaign, notching an impressive away from home success against Turkish side Fenerbache.

 

The visitors lined up in what seemed to be a four-two-three-one formation. A notable aspect of their starting eleven was Ousseynou Ba lining up in an unfamiliar role at right-back.

 

The visitors couldn't have gotten off to a better start, as they took the lead five minutes into the game. Giorgos Masouras cut off a pass in the centre of the park. Which lead to a dangerous ball being played back to him from Aguibou Camara. The Greek-international then played through a beautifully weighted pass of his own to striker Tiquinho, who dinked the ball over Fenerbache goalkeeper Altay Bayindir to give Olympiacos a confidence-boosting early lead.

 

Despite having a decent amount of possession half-an-hour into the game, Fenerbache could only manufacture half-chances. Due to Olympiacos' solid shape when stuck in their half. The pressing of the visitors, when the ball was in the centre of the park, was highly effective too.

 

Chances in general since scoring were scarce for Olympiacos, as they had to wait twenty-eight minutes post their first goal for another one. Giorgos Masouras was again the main cog in the attack, another nicely-played pass of his was this time met by Mady Camara, who stung the palms of Bayindir with a good save.

 

The home side finally broke through for a clear-cut chance just before halftime, and what a chance it was. The ball fell kindly to attacker Diego Rossi via a miss-cued interception from Olympiacos captain Andreas Bouchalakis. The Uruguayan controlled it expertly, only to then fire his shot over the crossbar from close range. When he really should have made the score one-one. That glorious chance was indeed the final action of the first half, with Olympiacos going into the break a goal to the good.

 

The second half began much like how the first half played out Fenerbache, enjoying most of the possession but failing to turn that possession dominance into clear-cut goalscoring opportunities. That changed somewhat when Luis Gustavo had a clear sight of the goal from just outside the box. But like Rossi in the first half, the shot flew over instead of beneath the net. Dimitris Pelkas then found himself in a great position inside the box shortly after. His well-executed volley found the post and trickled agonisingly wide of the target, frustratingly so for Fenerbache.

 

Following that Pelkas chance came the first one of the second half for the visitors through Aguibou Camara. He decided to have a go himself instead of playing in fellow attacker Henry Onyekuru. And he wasn't too far away either, with his shot forcing Bayindir into another sharp save.

 

Olympiacos had done well to soak up Fenerbache's possession dominance and were rewarded just after the hour. The ball found its way to man-of-the-match Giorgos Masouras, who controlled the ball beautifully, to then smash his volley into the roof of the net beyond the reach of Bayindir, doubling Olympiacos' lead.

 

Things only got better for the visitors five minutes later, as Masouras got himself a brace. Like his first goal, the ball came to him via a rebound. This time, he guided his first-time shot superbly into the bottom corner to make it three-nil for Olympiacos.

 

The Greek attacker was seriously enjoying what was turning out to be his best European competition performance, and he very nearly and should have had a hattrick on eighty-two minutes. He found himself in acres of space, and maybe with too much time to think about it, as he saw his shot, stopped by the foot of Bayindir.

 

Fenerbache's confidence was dead following Masouras' second goal of the game, which meant that chances were at a minimum. As the ninety-minute mark approached, Mergim Berisha and Dimitris Pelkas saw their efforts respectively saved and wide of the goal.

 

Those two of many half-chances for Fenerbache turned out to be the final action of the game, as Olympiacos ran out convincing three-nil winners.

 

This game was a litmus test for the visitors, and it was one that they passed with flying colours. As mentioned, Giorgos Masouras was unquestionably the man of the match. Constantly at the heart of most attacking moves that Olympiacos created throughout the game, ending up with a brace and an assist for his fantastic efforts.

 

Another litmus test awaits Olympiacos on matchday three, as they travel to Germany to face Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt. Should another output match what they produced in this game? Then that will go a long way to making it three wins in as many matches.

Hellas Football 

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